Capcom's Monster Hunter account confirmed yesterday that Monster Hunter Wilds comes to Nintendo Switch 2 on December 4, with pre-orders of the standard edition getting 25% off the full price. The Switch 2 version includes all Title Updates, local play, crossplay and an uncapped framerate option. The series has sold more than 131 million units since the first Monster Hunter launched on PlayStation 2 in 2004. The most recent main entries are Monster Hunter: World, Monster Hunter Rise and Wilds itself. Check out the official post down below:
Monster Hunter Wilds On Switch 2
Capcom's official Switch 2 page lists the pre-order discount as running until December 3 on the Nintendo eShop. Local co-op over local wireless is a feature unique to the Switch 2 version, crossplay lets Switch 2 players hunt online with players on other platforms, and the game runs in both handheld and TV mode. The launch version includes the content of every Title Update released for Wilds so far.
The digital Standard Edition contains the base game, and the Gold Edition adds the Cosmetic DLC Collection of 126 DLC packs plus premium bonuses. The physical Deluxe Edition is a game-key card. Capcom also released a Prologue Demo for the Switch 2 version last month. Here is Capcom's key art for Wilds:
The Monster Hunter Series Has No Story Order
Each mainline game sends a player-created hunter to a new region with its own hub and cast. In World, the hunter joins the Research Commission in the New World, working from the base of Astera. In Rise, the hunter is promoted by the Guild in Kamura Village and defends it from a monster stampede called the Rampage. In Wilds, the hunter explores the Forbidden Lands after a boy named Nata, from a people called the Keepers, is found in the wasteland. Wilds is a successor to World, set on a different continent with a new cast.
The core loop is the same in every mainline game. Hunters take quests to kill or capture large monsters, then use the materials carved from them, along with gathered resources and quest rewards, to forge or upgrade weapons and armor for tougher hunts. Hunters' abilities are defined by the weapons and armor they equip, and armor pieces carry skills that can be mixed and matched. After the main story, High Rank quests bring stronger versions of known monsters plus new ones.
Monster Hunter: World (2018)
World, the 5th mainline game, launched on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in January 2018, with the PC version following in August 2018. Its regions are made of zones that connect without loading screens, a first for the series, and Astera serves as the hub for quests, crafting, a farm, training areas and the canteen. World is Capcom's best-selling game ever, with more than 30 million copies shipped by June 2026.
The Iceborne expansion arrived on consoles in September 2019 and on PC in January 2020, and it reached 10 million sales by December 2022. This is the official World announcement trailer:
Monster Hunter Rise (2021)
Rise launched on Nintendo Switch in March 2021, reached PC in January 2022, and came to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S in January 2023. It added Palamutes, dog-like companions that hunters can ride across the map and into battle, and Wirebugs, which let hunters grapple across gaps, add moves to every weapon and take control of monsters through Wyvern Riding. Palicoes return alongside the Palamutes.
Rise has sold more than 20 million copies, the 2nd-best result in the series, and its Sunbreak expansion from June 2022 has sold more than 8 million. Here is the official Switch launch trailer for Rise:
Monster Hunter Wilds (2025)
Wilds launched on February 28, 2025 for PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X|S with cross-platform play. It sold more than 8 million copies in 3 days, making it Capcom's fastest-selling game, and it passed 10 million within its first month, as covered in Monster Hunter Wilds Passes Over 10 Million Sales In Just One Month.
Hunters ride bird-like mounts called Seikrets, which carry a 2nd weapon so players can switch between 2 weapons during a hunt. Hitting the same part of a monster opens a wound, and Focus Mode marks wounds and weak points for powerful Focus Strikes. Pop-up camps can be set up across the open world. After a quest starts, an SOS Flare calls up to 3 other hunters online, and NPC Support Hunters join automatically if not enough players answer. This is the official Wilds launch trailer:
The Monster Hunter Stories Spin-Offs
The Stories games are turn-based role-playing games in which players are Riders who hatch monster eggs and raise companions called Monsties, ride them in the overworld and fight alongside them. The original Monster Hunter Stories launched on Nintendo 3DS in Japan in October 2016 and in the West in September 2017. Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin followed on Switch and PC on July 9, 2021, following a descendant of the Rider Red who raises a Rathalos said to bring ruin to the world. A remaster of the first game and a PS4 port of the second arrived on June 14, 2024, covered in Monster Hunter Stories And Monster Hunter Stories 2 Released Today On New Platforms.
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection launched on March 13, 2026 for Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X|S. The heir of Azuria teams up with Eleanor, princess of the rival kingdom of Vermeil, against a disaster called the Crystal Encroachment, and the story centers on a Rathalos from a species said to be extinct. Capcom announced its sales milestone yesterday:
The 14 Weapon Types
Capcom's official Wilds descriptions break the 14 weapon types down this way:
- Great Sword: slow, heavy blows that hit hard, with the ability to guard.
- Long Sword: fast combos and counters, with a Spirit Gauge that strengthens attacks once it turns red. It cannot guard.
- Sword and Shield: quick attacks, a shield for guarding and attacking, and item use with the weapon drawn.
- Dual Blades: rapid attacks, with Demon Mode boosting damage and Archdemon Mode boosting it further once the Demon Gauge fills.
- Hammer: charged blunt attacks that can stun monsters when they land on the head.
- Hunting Horn: blunt attacks that play melodies to buff the hunter and nearby allies, plus Echo Bubbles with special area effects.
- Lance: top-class defense, with quick thrusts, a large shield and guard-based counters.
- Gunlance: long-reach melee attacks combined with short-range explosive shells and a shield.
- Switch Axe: morphs between a slower, long-reach Axe Mode and a faster Sword Mode.
- Charge Blade: charges phials in the agile Sword Mode to power up the heavy-hitting Axe Mode, with the ability to guard.
- Insect Glaive: vaults into the air for jumping attacks and sends a Kinsect to harvest extracts from monsters, with all 3 extract types triggering the strongest buffs.
- Light Bowgun: a mobile mid-range gun with multiple ammo types and Rapid Fire energy.
- Heavy Bowgun: a long-range gun with Auto-Guard and an Ignition Mode that fires special ammo.
- Bow: mobile mid-range arrow attacks that grow stronger when charged, with Tracers that make arrows home in on a monster.
Gamefragger's MONSTER HUNTER WILDS: Which Weapon Is Best For You? goes through the same 14 weapons by playstyle. Capcom's Switch 2 page illustrates the version's local play with this Palico artwork:
Which Monster Hunter game was your first, and which weapon did you main in it?
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